Paging in cellular telecommunications systems

• US 20020151307A1
• Filed: 02/01/2002
• Published: 10/17/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Demarez, Christophe, Martin-Leon, Silvia, Lepouras, Theodore, Suchantke, Dirk
• Granted Patent: US 7,346,031 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/445
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like

Abstract

In order to ensure that a mobile station is located and paged for a circuit-switched connection in a GSM system which supports data packet switching (GPRS) services, a specific means, a table held by the SGSN, is provided for locating a mobile station in the case where the mobile has moved from the Routing Area in which it was last located to a cell within the same Location Area which does not support GPRS services. The GSM system comprises a plurality of base station controllers (BSS) serving cells in a Location Area (LA), a circuit-switch control (MSC/VLR) for establishing circuit-switched connections to mobile stations within said Location Area, and a packet control (SGSN) for establishing data packet-switching with mobile stations within one or more Routing Areas (RA) within the Location Area. A method of paging includes the packet control, in response to a paging request, consulting information from a table held by the packet control of base station controllers which serve cells in said Location Area which are not part of a Routing Area, and instructing base station controllers to page cells in said Location Area and in particular said cells not forming part of a Routing Area.

Claims

1. A cellular telecommunications system comprising:

a plurality of base station control means (BSS) serving cells in a Location Area (LA), which comprises a first plurality of cells, circuit-switch control means (MSC/VLR) for said Location Area, for establishing circuit-switched connections to mobile stations within the Location Area,

packet control means (SGSN) for establishing data packet-switching with mobile stations within one or more Routing Areas (RA), each Routing Area comprising a second plurality of cells, being a subset of the first plurality of cells, and the packet control means (SGSN) being operative to page mobile stations within a Routing Area for initiating a circuit-switched connection to a mobile station,

characterised in that the packet control means has means to provide information of base station control means which serve cells within the Location Area which are not part of a Routing Area, and in that the packet control means consults said information when paging mobile stations.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein said packet control means is arranged to issue a paging request to said base station control means that cells within said Location Area should be paged.

3. A system according to claim 2, wherein said packet control means is arranged to issue a paging request including a Location Area Information Identifying Element, so that cells falling within other Location Areas are not paged.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein said packet control means is arranged to issue a paging request to said plurality of base station means indicating that a said second plurality of cells should be paged corresponding to the Routing Area in which the mobile station was last located, and in addition, said cells which are not part of a Routing Area.

5. A system according to claim 4, wherein said paging means is arranged to issue a paging request including a Location Area Information Identifying Element and a Routing Area Information Identifying Element, so that cells falling within other Routing Areas are not paged.

6. A system according to claim 1 for selecting a paging request.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein the packet control means includes a table means which lists base station control means, and the Location Area or Areas served by such base station control means which include cells not forming part of a Routing Area.

8. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the packet control means is arranged to page cells which are part of a Routing Area but are blocked from data-packet switching operation, said packet control means being arranged to obtain information on blocked cells from a database of cell status information included in said packet control means.

9. A method of paging in a cellular telecommunications system, the system comprising:

a plurality of base station control means (BSS) serving cells in a Location Area (LA), which comprises a first plurality of cells,

circuit-switch control means (MSC/VLR) for said Location Area, for establishing circuit-switched connections to mobile stations therein,

packet control means (SGSN) for establishing data packet-switching with mobile stations within one or more Routing Areas (RA), the or each Routing Area comprising a second plurality of cells, being a subset of the first plurality of cells, and the packet control means (SGSN) being operative to page mobile stations within a Routing Area for initiating a circuit-switched connection to a mobile station,

said paging method being characterised by;

said packet control means, in response to a paging request, obtaining information of base station control means which serve cells in said Location Area which are not part of a Routing Area, and

said packet control means instructing base station control means to page selected cells in said Location Area, and in particular said cells which are not part of a Routing Area.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein said packet control means issues a paging request to said plurality of base station control means that all cells within said Location Area should be paged.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein said paging request includes a Location Area Information Identifying Element, so that cells falling within other Location Areas are not paged.

12. A method according to claim 9, wherein said packet control means issues a paging request to said plurality of base station control means indicating that cells in a specific Routing Area should be paged and in addition, said cells not forming part of a Routing Area.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein said paging request includes a Location Area Information Identifying Element and a Routing Area Information Identifying Element, so that cells falling within other Routing Areas are not paged.

14. A method according to claim 9 including preselecting whether a paging request.

15. A method according to claim 9, wherein the packet control means includes a table means which lists base station control means, and the Location Area or Areas served by each base station control means which include cells not forming part of a Routing Area.

16. A method according to claim 9, said packet control means instructing said base station control means to page cells in a Routing Area which are blocked for operation for data—

packet switching.

17. A method according to claim 16, said packet control means obtaining information of blocked cells from a database of cell status information held by the packet control means.